


Heartbreak, Heartbreak, You Tell Me Goodbye

by LunaNocturne



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-14
Updated: 2013-02-12
Packaged: 2017-11-21 02:53:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/592634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaNocturne/pseuds/LunaNocturne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yosuke confesses to Souji about his feelings towards him, but Souji doesn't know how to respond. He leaves Yosuke on the roof, and they never spoke of what had happened between the two of them that day... Not until they meet again 10 years later.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tell Me Why You Did It

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place ten years after the events of P4/P4G/P4U. This is sort of a small thing I've been writing on a whim and I guess I wanted to share it. Hope you enjoy it! Pardon if I made any small mistakes in there, haha!

"Hey, thanks for coming up with me here today despite you having had plans with Ai."

Yosuke was actually quite excited for today. So excited, that he literally counted the days down on his calendar to this fateful date. After a good couple of months since his realization that he was in love with his best friend, he was finally able to muster up the courage to tell Souji how he felt. Long nights of just thinking about his partner treating him more than just a friend, and the occasional dirty thought here and there, would bother him endlessly prior to today. Yosuke couldn't even remember the last time he hadn't thought about Souji before he slept since his revelation. Although, Yosuke hoped, today it will all come to an end. It's either he was rejected or accepted, whatever the result was, Yosuke had looked forward to putting his raging emotions and hormones to rest. 

"No, it's fine," replied Souji, "I'd rather have talked and hung out with you than carry shopping bags around for hours." 

"Haha," chuckled Yosuke, "That's true."

"So, what'd you want to talk to me about?" 

"Oh! Th-That's right." Yosuke was so caught up in the moment that he forgot why the two were up on the roof in the first place. "Actually, I, um..."

"Don't tell me you brought me up here so you could confess your feelings to me!" Souji said as he let out a hearty laugh. Spot on, thought Yosuke. Yosuke began to wonder if his crush was a little too obvious and Souji just happened to see right through him. He stared at Souji with a faint smile, a small sweat drop falling from his cheek. The grey haired boy stopped laughing, letting out a sigh that shows that he hadn't made himself laugh like that in ages. "Wait, you're not laughing," said Souji. 

"Oh, no!" Yosuke said with a small laugh, "It's just that's what I wanted to talk to you about." 

Souji tilted his head to the side, staring at Yosuke with a slight confusion. He thought about it for a while, then nodded in a sort of way that said he understood what was going on. "Ah," Souji breathed, "I know what this is about."

"Y-You do?!" Yosuke was panicking a little. 

"Of course," replied Souji, "this is about Rise's confession to me." Yosuke felt an arrow of stupidity shoot through his chest, yet he was also washed over with relief at the same time. He was more than glad that Souji didn't know about him confessing. "I turned her down, of course. She's way too clingy; she's not even my type."

"Oh, really? That's gre-- No! I mean... Th-That's not what I wanted to talk to you about!"

"Then what is it?"

As Yosuke was just about to blurt out the three magic words, he stopped himself from doing so because if he had done it, it would've made things extremely awkward and totally unromantic.

"I... I'm... Souji, I--!" Yosuke stopped himself from finishing his statement. He so badly, oh-so-very badly, to continue, but he just had so much adrenaline building up within his body that a simple confession would leave him unsatisfied with himself. "Gah, fuck it!"

Yosuke walked up to Souji, his hands grasping tightly onto his friend's shoulders. He closed his eyes, and leaned closer into his face, for he was too afraid to see Souji's reaction to what was going on. He stood up slightly on the tips of his toes so as to fully close the distance between his face and his partner's. Yosuke pressed his lips softly against Souji's, adding a little more pressure into the kiss as milliseconds go by to show that Yosuke was serious about what he was doing. Yosuke so badly wanted to suck onto Souji's lower lip, but refrained from doing so seeing how awkward the atmosphere feels already. The brunette pulled away from his friend, the kiss still slightly lingering on both of their lips. Yosuke stood back down on the flats of his feet, his hands still gripping tightly on Souji's shoulders, and his face as flushed as a blushing high school girl. 

"I really like you!" said Yosuke, "No, not even, I'm in freaking love with you, Souji!" He let go of his friend's shoulders and backed away a little to give him some breathing space, seeing that it'd probably do the both of them some good. "It's just that... Ever since that time at the riverbank with the two us, something inside my chest just flicked. I didn't know what to do, I actually thought I was sick for a while... Then I realized the source of the pains in my heart had been you, Souji. Just being with you, and seeing you smile.. It brought me on the edge, and it felt like my heart was going to burst whenever I you were near." Yosuke put his hand over his chest, the loud thumps of his heart beating against the palm of his hand. "Like right now. My heart is going haywire, and I don't know what to do about it... Dammit, just when I thought my confession would make it stop." Yosuke brought his hands up to his face to hide his blushing from Souji. 

For damn sure Souji was shocked. His best friend, his comrade, his partner had just confessed to him. The fact the two of them both being guys shocked Souji the most, since he was always under the assumption that Yosuke would never be the type to confess to a man like this.

"...Souji?" Yosuke called out. A thick silence had fallen between the two of them, and Yosuke wanted to break it. He was anxious for an answer, whether Souji said yay or nay. 

Souji reached into his pocket for his phone, holding onto it tightly in hope of someone to send him a text message so he could get away from this situation as fast as he could. He knew it was a dick move, but he couldn't just give an answer just like that! Heck, Souji didn't even think he wanted to answer. He only saw Yosuke as a close friend, and nothing more than that. He didn't want to hurt his feelings, but he also didn't want to break the relationship the two already had. He thought that the best idea was to stay silent, and let Yosuke decipher Souji's feelings towards him for himself. 

"Souji," Yosuke quaked, "please, give me an answer. I don't care if you call me a freak, or whatever! I just want to know what you--!" Yosuke was cut off by the sound of Souji's phone going off. 

Thank god, Souji thought. Souji frantically took out the cellphone to make it look as if it was an important message. Unfortunately for him, the message had been another spam, but Souji used it to his advantage to get himself out of his situation. "It was my uncle," Souji lied, "he wants me back home to help Nanako cook dinner."

"Oh," Yosuke replied, "right... You should go." Yosuke's voice was starting to crack as he tried to hold back what sounded like tears. 

"Yosuke, I'm sorry, but if we could talk about this another ti--!"

"Don't bother," Yosuke barked suddenly, causing Souji to jump a bit. "I mean," his voice softened, "no, it's okay. You'll be leaving soon; you should be spending more time with your family rather than someone like me."

"Yosuke," Souji said as he reached out to him, trying to make his excuse to leave as convincing as possible. Yosuke shied away from the hand, clearly not wanting to be pitied... Just as Souji expected. He knew Yosuke way too well. "Will you be okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just go," Yosuke replied with a smile. "I'd rather I be alone right now, anyway."

Souji looked at him for a while and replied with a nod. He turned around and left Yosuke without looking back, closing the door to the roof behind him as he entered the way to the stairs. He lingered behind the door for a while, waiting to see if Yosuke was telling the truth or not... But Souji already knew the answer to that. He put his ear against the door, and heard the muffled sounds of Yosuke crying in the distance. Souji felt bad for doing so, but Souji wasn't the nicest man in the world. He didn't think anything in the world could make up for making Yosuke cry like that; his best friend's cool, relaxed image breaking within seconds due to Souji being a total douche bag. Souji then left as soon as he could; he didn't want to hear Yosuke in such a weak state any longer. 

•••••

Souji and Yosuke still saw each other in school, but whenever Souji asked about the time on the roof the other day, Yosuke always replied him with "I have no idea what you're talking about!" With Yosuke's usual cool tone. Souji was under the assumption that Yosuke probably just cried it all out that night and probably blocked that whole event from his memory. Souji thought it was for the best, and he was glad that things are back to normal. 

•••••

The time for Souji to leave had arrived, and the whole gang came to see him off. After everyone had said their goodbyes, they left Yosuke's farewell messages for last. Everyone knew the two were inseparable, so they thought that they should leave the best for the finale. Yosuke gave Souji a big hug, patting his back multiple times and said his 'goodbyes' and 'I'll miss you', and the cliche 'Text me everyday' as loud for everyone to hear. Just when Yosuke thought that everyone was still under the assumption that the two were still hugging, Yosuke whispered something into Souji's ear.

"Promise me you'll forget…" Yosuke said, "promise me you'll forget that stupid confession of mine."

Souji chuckled and replied with "I promise." I lied, Souji thought. 

"Thanks," Yosuke giggled as he playfully punched Souji's arm. The two shared a laugh before Yosuke joined the rest of the gang. 

Souji then boarded the train, the train back to the city, with everyone watching him as the doors closed in front of them. As the train began to take off, his friends chased after it with much energy, still yelling goodbyes, 'I'll miss you', and 'We'll meet again!'

Souji clenched his fist, his desire to jump off the train to run into the arms of his friends growing, but he knew what he had to do and he wanted to leave his friends as the man they all saw him as. As Souji went back to his seat, he looked back at everything he had been through with his friends... The many adventures in the TV, capturing Adachi, just hanging out with his many friends... And Yosuke. His best friend. His comrade. His partner. Yosuke was a man that Souji will never forget, be it the time when they first met that cloudy day, right down to their final goodbyes.

"I don't think I'll be keeping that promise of yours, Yosuke," whispered Souji to himself, "there's no way that I'll forget all the things we did together... You know me better than that."

*~••• 10 years later •••~*

"Good morning, Mr. Takamoto. My name is Yosuke Hanamura, and I have been assigned your case concerning the murder of your wife, Mrs. Yuriko Takamoto, as your lawyer."

"I didn't do it!" The frail man replied, "I would never kill the love of my life! Why couldn't it have been me who died instead of her?"

Yosuke Hanamura, who is now 27 years old, is meeting up with his client in the hospital to talk about the murder case of his not too long ago. After graduating from Yasogami High, Yosuke went off to a university to pursue a career of law and justice. The case concerning the murders in the TV world had inspired him to do so, and Yosuke did not intend to stop bringing people to justice there. Yosuke had only been in the business for a couple of months, but the past few trials he was assigned to had been successful. He was glad about that, since he's been getting more and more clients ever since his debut as a great lawyer began. 

Yosuke stood by Mr. Takamoto's bed who proceeded to ramble on and on about how he loved his wide and how he was innocent. Yosuke knew for sure that the guy was innocent, he just didn't know how shut him up. Yosuke pressed the speaker button to reach one of the nurses and spoke into it. 

"Nurse," Yosuke said, "Mr. Takamoto is going into hysterics again. May I as for your assistance?" The nurse replied briefly and Yosuke quickly hung up the line. Shortly afterward, nurses came into the room to try calm Takamoto down, comforting him and even injecting some sort of drug into his blood stream. Yosuke snuck out of the room (sneaking a small glance at some of the nurses' ass of course) to give the nurses and patient some privacy. He waited out in the empty hallway, briefcase at hand, when suddenly his phone began to ring. Yosuke proceeded to answer and began speaking into the phone. 

"Hello?" Yosuke greeted, "Oh, hey boss... No no, I'm just waiting for Takamoto here to calm down before I start talking to him... Right, but..." Yosuke's conversation on the phone continued on. One of the nurses came outside of room to tell Yosuke that the doctor was coming to talk to him about Takamoto's current condition. Yosuke replied to her with a brief nod, since he was still on the phone. The nurse, and the rest of her group within the room, had left to do their other jobs within the hospital. Yosuke as still talking in his phone when he heard the voice of the doctor coming from behind him. 

"Mr. Lawyer, I'm sorry to say that Mr. Takamoto isn't well enough to be speaking with you at the moment," said the doctor. Yosuke was half listening to the doctor talking to him. "If you could come back another time, that would be most preferable." At that Yosuke had hung up the phone and moved his attention toward the doctor. 

"Right, sorry doctor," Yosuke replied while turning around. "Thanks for telling me, and I'll be sure to visit another ti--!" Yosuke couldn't finish his statement. The face of the doctor in front of him had frozen him in place, and could not continue his thought. "...Sou... Ji?"

"Well, yes, that would be my name, but how did you...!" It was then that both the lawyer and doctor knew who they were both speaking to. "Oh my god, Yosuke, is that you?"

"Oh my god, it is you!" Yosuke exclaimed. He let the briefcase he held onto drop to the floor so that he could wrap his arms around Souji. It had been 10 years since the two last saw each other, since Souji had to leave to study abroad months after moving back to the city from Inaba. The two still spoke to each other through means of the Internet, but it had been years since the two saw each other face to face. "Holy crap, I've missed you, partner!"

Souji put his arms around Yosuke as well, returning the hug. "Same here, partner. It's been way too long since we last met!" The two let go of each other and took a step back to give each other some space. 

The two spoke about how they were, and how life was for the other for a good while. They hadn't had the chance to talk back then due to school, but since getting their jobs, they hadn't spoken to each other once. 

"Hey," said Souji, "my shift actually ends at around eight... You want to meet up later for a drink or something? We can talk more then."

"Oh, dude, totally!" Yosuke replied with much enthusiasm. "I'll meet you at the entrance around then?"

"Sure," Souji smiled, "I'll see ya there."

With that, the two waved each other goodbye, promising each other to meet up later again that night. 

•••••


	2. Every Dream Falling Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yosuke and Souji go out drinking. They use that time to catch up with each other, and talk about the things they had done when they weren't with each other. The two also speak about something that's been bothering Yosuke for the past ten years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of the events after chapter 1.

"Hey, over here!"

Yosuke had been waiting out in the cold, winter air for Souji. Yosuke wore a black, winter parka with his thick blue scarf wrapped around his neck. He wore a pair of nice, black jeans that he had bought a while ago and Yosuke decided to wear it now to show it off to Souji. He arrived a bit earlier than planned, but it wasn't like he had much else to do other than stand around and wait. It had been almost an hour before Yosuke finally saw Souji exiting the hospital. Yosuke had just called out to Souji from afar, waving his arm in the air to show him where he was. 

"Yo!" Souji greeted as he ran towards him. Souji had worn a silver petticoat, similar to the one he had back in high school, with a blue, plaid scarf around his neck. He wore the same black pants and white dress shirt with tie he had worn earlier on the job, since he really saw no point in changing since it was just going to be the two of them out drinking casually with each other."Sorry I'm late... Did you wait long?"

"No, not at all," Yosuke lied, "I actually just got here."

"You sure? Your face is flushed and..." Souji placed the back of his hand on Yosuke's cheek with a worried look spread across his face, "Woah, your skin is freezing."

Yosuke backed away from the hand and looked at Souji with a smile. He was just as Souji remembered him as; that one friend who worries over you like no tomorrow, and stops at nothing till he makes sure you're okay. Yosuke didn't hate it, heck, he actually enjoyed it; Yosuke just wishes that Souji he could lay off a bit and started acting more like a friend rather than a mom... Especially now that he's a doctor. "I walked here," Yosuke lied again... He actually took transit. "Now stop worrying and let's get going! This is supposed to be a time of celebration, not a time to worry about Yosuke."

Souji looked at the other man and chuckled. He lowered his hand back to his side and returned Yosuke's smile. "Right," Souji replied, "let's get to my car. You can warm yourself up in there."

"A car? You have a car?"

"'Course I do... Why, don't you have one?"

"No man, I don't think I'd benefit much with a car," Yosuke smiled. 

"Whatever, man, let's just go already."

"Alright, partner."

The two made their short journey to the parking lot where they saw Souji's silver 2024 Honda civic. Yosuke ran to it when he found out it was Souji's to examine its small details... Not that any of the details was important, since the car wasn't really all the special. 

"I-It's so shiny!" Yosuke beamed as he looked inside through the window, "You got the leather seats; built in, holographic GPS... Oh god, this car is awesome!"

"It's just a Civic, Yosuke," said Souji with much nonchalant. "What I really want right now is that new Camaro model they'll be coming out with soon... Or a Ferrari, if I can manage." Yosuke laughed at his remark. 

"Keep dreaming with that Ferrari, Souji... Those babies are practically extinct nowadays."

"A man can dream," Souji chuckled. The two shared a short laugh before Souji unlocked the door to his car for the both of them to enter. As Yosuke sat onto the passenger seat of the car, and sank into the comfy leather seats, he took a whiff at the new car smell that lingered in the vehicle. Creepy as he thought it was, Yosuke hadn't ridden inside a car in a while... Albeit being a new one. The brunette hasn't noticed it, but he was already starting to stare at things in full detail, even fidgeting with one of the few features the car had. "You having fun there?" Souji asked, clearly seeing the gleam in Yosuke's eyes. 

"Oh, yeah, tons!" Yosuke replied. "I haven't ridden a car like this in a while, so this is kinda exciting."

"Well, mind if you calm down a bit? We won't be getting anywhere if you continue being in so much awe about my car."

"Oh... Right." Yosuke chuckled as he sat neatly within his seat as he strapped himself on with the seat belt. 

With that, Souji revved the car up and drove off into the city to a local bar he knew about that he thought Yosuke might enjoy. 

•••••

"You gotta take me on a joy ride on that thing one day, man," smiled Yosuke as he took his heavy jacket off to leave in the car. 

"Ha, we'll see," replied Souji with a laugh. 

The two entered the bar, a giant wave of talking and laughter as they walked in. The two found a spot on the counter and sat themselves down beside each other. Souji ordered the two of them a couple of beers as if he'd done it a million times already. 

"Wow, you come here often?" Yosuke joked. 

"Not as much as I want to." Souji replied, putting on a very cool, yet seductive smile to go along with the joke. 

Yosuke felt his heart skip a beat, slightly agreeing to himself that Souji somehow got a lot handsomer since they last met. Yosuke shook off any feeling of admiring or anything alike, and focused more on the task at hand. "Liar," Yosuke replied with a laugh, "I bet you come here all the time with your doctor friends, nurses, or something!"

"Eh, I guess you could say that," said Souji as he held one of the beers that had just arrived for the two of them. "Well, since now we know that we actually live fairly close to each other, we can come here whenever you want... Assuming that we're both free, that is."

"Totally! I look forward to it."

Souji chuckled and looked at Yosuke with a soft expression, secretly extremely happy that the two are able to meet again after ten whole years of being apart. He didn't show it, but Souji wouldn't hesitate to tackle the other to the ground in a tight hug because he missed Yosuke that much. Since they were in a public place, Souji obviously didn't do it. Souji raised his glass towards Yosuke, a smile still plastered across his face. "To us finally being able to meet again after so long," said Souji. 

Yosuke looked at Souji with a puzzled look, then returned the smile with one of his own. He took his own glass, raised it, and slightly tapped it against Souji's. "To us," he replied. The two then took a giant swig of both their drinks before slamming it on the counter, letting out the sigh of content people make when their thirst has been quenched. 

Yosuke was glad to have met Souji again too, probably just as much as the other... But there was something about it all that kept bothering Yosuke deep inside of him. He has seen Souji again, they even made future plans to go out too, and that's great! It's just that Yosuke didn't feel right. The moment he laid eyes on Souji when they met at the hospital, and the sudden realization that the doctor he was speaking to was actually his best friend, he could feel all the memories they had together back in Inaba flowing back into himself... Both good and bad times. Though he was reminded of all the days they had spent together, there was always one thing that stuck to him all the way from the time Souji left, to right at this moment in the bar… and those were his feelings toward him. A good ten years, Yosuke thought, who knew I'd still love you this much. Yosuke took another large gulp of the beer, trying to wash away feelings of love or whatever from lingering. He didn't enjoy the pain of a broken heart all that much. "Another beer, please!" Yosuke called out to the bartender. 

Souji raised an eyebrow, "You seem enthusiastic." 

"Let a man drink away his worries," replied Yosuke. 

"Haha, sure... So, you're a lawyer now?"

"Yep," Yosuke answered as he took a drink of the beer that had just arrived. "Only been in the business a couple of months, but it's been great so far." Yosuke looked over to Souji, eyeing his calm demeanor, and the one drink wrapped around his fingers. "You're only having one?"

"Well, I'm the one driving," Souji answered rather happily, "so drink as much as you want. My treat."

Yosuke's eyes widened and returned it with a smile and a pat on the back. "Thanks, partner."

"Anytime."

"Hah, so how's being a doctor? I always knew leading people around and helping others were your thing."

Souji took a sip from his beer and rested his head on the palm of his hand, playfully swishing the drink around with his other. "It's actually pretty good," he replied. "The pay's great, and I always feel good about myself when I watch a patient walk out of the hospital doors free from whatever they were put in there for."

"You're a saint," Yosuke added. 

"Not exactly... I've had my share of failures here and there."

"Oh... I'm sorry about that."

"It's fine, so long as they're free from their pain," smiled Souji. 

"Then is it okay if you can free me of mine?" Mumbled Yosuke, his voice being drowned out due to the abundance of noise already present in the bar. 

"Um, sorry, could you say that again? I couldn't really hear you." Souji stated as he leaned closer to Yosuke. Yosuke backed away from him, shaking his head furiously. 

"No! It's nothing!" He answered. He was more than glad that Souji didn't hear him. Souji shrugged and took another sip of his beer, letting go of whatever Yosuke might have said.

The brunette let out a sigh of relief, and finished his second beer in one go. He slammed the glass against the counter and yelled, the alcohol clearly already taking effect, "One more!"

•••••

"Yosuke, you're drunk," Souji reported as he eyed the multiple glasses of beer lined up in front the brunette. "You've had enough for today."

"Shut up, MOM, you're not the boss of me!" Yosuke yelled at Souji in return. "I do what I want, you little piece of doctorate crap!"

Souji chuckled and helped Yosuke of his chair, leaving some money on the counter when he got his arm around his shoulders. "Yeah yeah, but I wouldn't want you dying on alcohol poisoning, so bear with me already," he replied as the two walked out of the bar and into the parking lot. 

"Don't go saying those crappy bear puns Teddie makes," Yosuke said with his already slurred voice. "You've got more claaass than THAT!" Yosuke hiccuped. 

Souji chuckled as he helped Yosuke into the car, sitting him down on the passenger seat and applying his seat belt for him. "It wasn't a joke," corrected Souji. 

"Then SHUT UP and make me a sandwich, woman."

"Yosuke, do me a favor and just quiet down for now... I'll make you something to eat when I get you home."

"'Better." Yosuke said, finally shutting up himself. 

Souji smiled as he closed the car door for Yosuke. He walked around the car back to the driver's seat and saddled himself up as well. After entering Yosuke's address Yosuke had given him earlier into the GPS, he started the car and drove off. Yosuke still talked to him multiple times during the drive there, but it wasn't as annoying as before. 

•••••

"Alright, we're here," said Souji as he stopped the car in front of the building. Yosuke had lived in a small apartment by himself close to the city. It wasn't that new, but it wasn't that old of an apartment, so Souji was actually quite impressed with Yosuke for finding such a nice place to live. "Okay, Yosuke, get up. I know you don't need help getting out of a car now that you probably have sobered up a bit."

"Souji," Yosuke began, his voice not as slurred as earlier. "Do you remember those times back in Inaba? With you, me, and the rest of the others?"

"Of course," Souji answered, "how could I forget?" It was a bit sudden of Yosuke to talk about this now. 

"Do you remember that promise you and I made when you left? Before you entered the train? How I asked you to forget?"

Souji fell silent a bit. He had a slight idea to where this was going, but Souji wanted to make sure. "Yeah, I do...What of it?"

"I broke it the moment you said 'I promise'," Yosuke answered, "that event had become a stain in the carpet of my life."

"Yosuke..." Souji whispered, reaching out to comfort him, although Yosuke grabbed Souji by the wrist before Souji could do anything else. He tensed up a bit, a bit shocked at the gesture. 

"I still love you, you know," Yosuke said as he looked at the other man. "Couldn't love anyone but." His grip around the other's wrist tightened, clearly not wanting to let Souji go. 

"I'm sorry, Yosuke, but could we talk about this another time?" Souji suggested. "You're drunk, and--" Yosuke cut him off. 

The smaller man pushed Souji to the other side of the car, his grip still tight on Souji's wrist as Yosuke hovered over him. "That's what you said back then," stated Yosuke. "You ran away last time I told you that."

Souji's eyes widened. Yosuke was correct about that too. Souji did run away from Yosuke all those years ago and probably left the poor boy broken for all that time.There was nothing Souji could do to get those years back for Yosuke, and by doing what he's doing now is no different to what he did back in high school. "I'm sorry," replied Souji. "It's just that I didn't know how to respond with my best friend confessing to me like that. It was just way too sudden and I--" He was cut off again. 

"Thought it was weird? That it was stupid? Thought I was just another one of those many girls that probably confessed to you that day?" 

"Don't go putting words into my mouth!" Souji yelled. "Yosuke, you're drunk! You don't know what you're saying!"

"I am as full as hell aware of what I'm saying, Souji," replied Yosuke. "It hurt, you know? Being in the dark about how your friend feels or thinks about you. I was always jumping to conclusions, and I swear I wasn't able to think straight for a good couple of days because of it. Had to go into therapy for a while, 'cause my parents thought there was something wrong with me."

Souji was on the verge of blowing up at him now. Yes, he was mad, but yelling at him wouldn't probably do any good to both of them. "Then why didn't you just forget about me?" Souji asked as calm as he could. 

"Because I fucking couldn't, alright?!" Yosuke yelled, clearly pissed off already. "I was just so anxious, and curious about it all, that I couldn't bring myself to forget, even if I wanted to!" Yosuke his his face onto Souji's chest, wanting to hide his shame. "If I could've, I would've, alright? It's not my fault you left such a big impact in my life." He buried his face deeper into Souji's jacket, tears already starting to flow out of his eyes and soak Souji's clothes. 

"What, so it's my fault now?" Souji barked. Yosuke shot up at the remark, was about to say something, but Souji had beaten him to the punch. "You shouldn't be so damn selfish about why you feel like this, Yosuke, you know better than that. If I could help you, I would, but since there's probably nothing I can do to help how you feel about people, I can't do anything about it." Souji pushed the both of them up from their position, and sat down on the seats properly, still facing each other. "So do me a favor and stop being a whiney little bitch about this, and calm the fuck down already!"

Yosuke was taken aback by Souji's statement, but what he said was true. Yosuke was, indeed, being selfish with this all, and he knew for a fact that not everything was about him. "Right," Yosuke muttered. "I'm sorry for saying those things..."

"It's fine," Souji replied, "just go home, get a drink of water, and rest. You're hella drunk anyway." Souji patted Yosuke on the back, slightly smiling. "I'm also sorry for talking to you like that too," he added. "I guess I was just real pissed off, is all."

"It's cool," Yosuked responded. "Probably deserved it anyway." 

He looked at Yosuke with a worried expression, worried that Yosuke might do something horrible the minute he takes his eyes of him. Souji pulled Yosuke into a tight hug, surprising the other for a bit. He realized that giving him an answer to Yosuke's feelings now would be good as a time as any. "So you still want to know how I feel about you?" Souji asked, still hugging Yosuke. "I decided I would stop running away and face this head on as a man."

Yosuke didn't say anything. He just hugged Souji as tight as he could back, making a small sound of agreement that Souji obviously heard. 

The silver-haired man let out a breath to collect himself. He looked at Yosuke in the eye with a serious look, eyes focused and unwavering. "I don't like you in that way, Yosuke, and I'm sorry," declared Souji. "Although, I'll be more than glad if the two of us could still be the best of friends."

Yosuke felt his face growing hot, loose tears still falling from his eyes. The brunette looked at Souji and smiled, somewhat filled with content. "Thanks, partner," Yosuke trembled. "You have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say that."

"Ten years?" Souji said in a joking manner. The two of them shared a laugh before falling silent again. "Well, since we've finally settled this, I can finally tell you." Souji added. "I've got myself a girlfriend already."

"A... Girlfriend?" Yosuke repeated. "You've got a girlfriend?" Yosuke was still pretty bummed out from getting rejected, but talking about his girlfriend now at all times?

"That's right," Souji replied, "We've been together for almost 2 years."

Ouch, Yosuke thought, way to add salt to the wound. Instead of saying what he was saying in his mind, he gave Souji a congratulatory pat on the shoulder, a wide smile spread across his face. "Congrats, man!" Yosuke lied. "You should introduce me one day!"

Souji chuckled in return. "Thanks," he replied, "and I'm sure she'd like that." 

With that, Yosuke decided he had enough for today. He opened the door of the car and walked outside. "Thanks so much for today, Souji," Yosuke said. "I.. I really, really appreciate it."

"Anything for my partner in crime," Souji smiled. 

The two waved each other off before Yosuke closed the door to the car and watched Souji drive away. Yosuke opened the entrance to the apartment building and made his way up to his room. He lingered over his front door, leaning his forehead against the wood. 

"Meet his girlfriend, huh?" Yosuke muttered. "...I look forward to it."


	3. After the Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yosuke just got his feelings rejected by the love his life. The two make plans to meet up again, and Yosuke is visited by an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of chapter 2!  
> In this chapter, I'll be introducing a character from the Persona 4 spin off series "The Magician". If you haven't read it, that's fine! I've explained who the person is in this chapter so that you'd understand. If you haven't already read The Magician, I totally recommend it! It's only got four chapters translated at the moment, but it's good since you learn about Yosuke before he met Souji and the others!

"Augh, crap..."

It was hard, Yosuke admitted, to give up on Souji in just a couple of nights. It's not like his romantic feelings for him are going to disappear in a blink of an eye, especially since he's loved the other man for such a long time. It was like Yosuke was trying to quit smoking, and is slowly progressing to chewing nicorette gum to satisfy his cravings. He felt bad for still liking him even after he had been given a straight answer, but, for Yosuke, old habits die slowly. 

For the past ten years, whenever Yosuke needed some sort of relief from his raging sex impulses, the young man would proceed to fantasize about his best friend in the most profound way possible, jerking himself off or even the occasional three fingers up his ass in the process. Tonight had been one of those days, and Yosuke was feeling especially excited at the moment. 

The boy had been laying on his couch normally, his head facing towards the ceiling. Yosuke, growing more and more excited by the minute, then began to image Souji kissing him gently, his tongue slipping softly into Yosuke's lips in between the kiss, with their fingers getting lost in each ofher's bodies. Just the image of the two making out would already get Yosuke pretty hard, and the boy could already feel a tight sensation in his groin area. He undone the button and zipper of his pants to let his member out, already standing tall and hard. He took hold of himself and began to let his mind do its magic. Yosuke imagined Souji pushing him onto his bed, their kiss getting rougher as they go. He pictured Souji removing the ofher's pants, releasing himself from their kiss to lower himself to Yosuke's hips, and take Yosuke's member into his mouth. He could feel his dick pulsating in his hand, stroking it up and down continuously as he played the event in his head. 

"S-Souji..." Yosuke muttered, letting out a moan of pleasure in the process. 

_"I've got myself a girlfriend already."_ The words echoed in his mind ever so softly. Somehow, the sentence found themselves within the image, with the Souji in his mind echoing the words that rung within his ears. 

Yosuke didn't know what to say of this, of course, since the man was currently jerking off to his best friend. He didn't know whether to feel slightly turned on, or saddened that the truth of reality had snuck its way into his fantasy. The boy let go of his member, clearly no longer in the mood to continue on. He got up from the couch to wash his hands in the kitchen sink, his fingers slightly dripping with pre-cum. 

As he made his way to the sink, his hands still not washed, his cellphone begins to ring a tone he had familiarized himself since long ago. 

"Shit," he said, "who the hell could be calling me now?" Yosuke quickly rinsed his hands under warm water, and wiped his wet hands on the cloth of his falling pants before answering his phone. "Hello?"

"Yosuke? It's me, Souji." The voice said. 

"Oh crap, hey dude! What's up?"

"Well, I just called in to say that I got a message that Mr. Takamoto is able to speak to you now for further questioning concerning your investigation."

"Woah, really? Thanks a bunch, man." 

"Any time.," Souji smiled over the phone. "I'm also wondering if you were busy tonight."

"Me? Busy?" Yosuke laughed. "Nah, I doubt it. I'll talk to Takamoto tomorrow; I'll give him a bit more time to rest."

"Whatever floats your boat."

"Haha! So, what's going on tonight?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to accompany my girlfriend and I to dinner. It's my treat."

 _Dinner,_ Yosuke thought, _dinner with his girlfriend..._ The boy fell to a short silence for a second until Souji broke him out of his daze. 

"Oh!" Yosuke jumped, "D-Dinner, right? Yeah, I'm down with that!" 

"Um, alright," Souji said with a chuckle. "We'll pick you up tonight at 7 if that's cool with you."

"That's fine! I'll see you then."

"Yeah, see ya."

With that the two men hung up on each other. Yosuke let the hand on his ear drop to his side, his eyes staring blankly at the sink. His knees were trembling a bit, kind of shaken up at hearing Souji's voice. He still loved the other man so much, so Yosuke thought that meeting Souji's girlfriend this soon since the rejection would probably kill him inside. The brunette finally gave up to his trembling knees and fell to the floor, his head against the doors to the place under the kitchen sink. 

"Dammit, Yosuke," he quaked to himself, "get a hold of yourself! He doesn't like you that way, dammit, so just fucking move on already…" The man clung on tightly to his chest, the familiar pain of a broken heart beating within him again and again. He tried to fight back the tears, tears that he never wanted to fall. He thought he had cried it all out all those days ago, but he guessed crying once didn't actually help all that much. The boy finally collapsed to the floor, sobbing loudly and repeatedly screaming "Dammit!" To himself.

His phone rang again, Yosuke noticed through his sobs. He didn't know who it was, and didn't want to at the moment. Although, beig the kind person he was, he quickly calmed himself down to answer the phone. "H-Hello?" The man stuttered, slightly between lingering sobs. 

"Yosuke? Yosuke are you okay?" The voice questioned. 

Yosuke didn't know who the man on the other line was, it actually took him a good couple of seconds to finally recognize the other's voice. The voice had belonged to his friend Katsuragi Tamura, a friend of his back before he had moved to Inaba all those years ago. Katsuragi was probably the only person that Yosuke had kept in touch with since moving to Inaba. The two had been in the same class, but, despite being so, the two didn't speak much prior to Yosuke moving away. It was only after he had moved to Inaba that the two had grown very close. One could call Katsuragi Yosuke's first best friend. 

After moving back to the city, he decided he'd get in touch with Katsuragi and decided to hang out with him more to make up for the time they weren't together. In doing so, Yosuke was able to switch contact numbers with him. Since then, the two had actually grown a lot closer. Surprisingly enough, the two had gotten the same job as lawyers for the same company, and are currently working together on the same case. Katsuragi hadn't anything else to do, so he thought it was best to at least help gather some evidence for his friend. 

"K-Katsuragi," Yosuke mumbled, "um, w-what's up?"

"Hey, answer my question won't you?" Katsuragi chuckled. Yosuke laughed with him back, slightly getting rid of the sobs as he laughed. 

"Yeah, I'm fine now that you called," Yosuke confessed. "So, why'd you call all of a sudden?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I got a couple evidence that could lead to the real murder. Just thought you should know."

"Really? That's pretty great, Katsuragi! Ah, you've already gotten so much done, and I haven't even be able to question the witness yet. I envy you, dude."

"Hey, the guy was sick; who could blame you?"

The two shared a short laugh. Yosuke felt a lot better speaking with Katsuragi for some reason. It was as if the other man made Yosuke's worries fly away in the wind. 

"You mind if I come over?" Katsuragi asked between chuckles. "I wanted to go over it with you."

Yosuke smiled over the phone. "Yeah," he chimed. "I'd like that."

~*****~

Souji stared at the screen of his phone, its words flashing 'Call Ended'. He turned his phone off and stuffed it into the pocket of his pants. The man couldn't stop thinking about the plans he had made with Yosuke just now. He knew it was pretty soon since he had told him his true feelings, but Souji thought that doing this might cheer his partner up a little. 

"Souji?" A feminine voice called out. "Were you able to call your friend?"

The silver haired man turned over to where the voice was coming from and smiled. "Yeah, I told him," he replied. "He sounded pretty excited."

"Well, that's good. I was worried that he wouldn't look forward to meeting me!" A woman came from out of the hallway and into the living room to where Souji had been. She had long, black, wavy hair and had donned a black long coat. The woman had been putting on some earrings as she walked towards Souji to place a small kiss on his lips. The woman had been getting ready for work as quick as she could, since she was almost late. Souji looked at her with a smile as she made her away around their home. 

"You got everything you need there, Yuuko?" Souji asked trying to lend a hand. 

"Yeah, I'm good," she replied. "All I got is a meeting concerning the winter line-up, so I don't really need much." The woman grabbed her bags and placed, yet another, kiss on Souji's before making her way to the door. "I'll be back in time for dinner!"

"I'll see ya later," he said waving to Yuuko as she ran out the door, slamming it behind her. With that, Souji made his way to the sofa and plopped himself down. Souji had the day off that day, and he didn't exactly have anything planned. He had wanted to visit Yosuke, but he was going to see the other later that night, so what was the point? Instead, the man decided to think that inviting Yosuke to dinner this soon was actually a good idea. What does Yosuke really feel about this? Was he hiding his true feelings towards him? Does he even _want_ to meet Yuuko? Those questions were swirling around in his mind which brought Souji to scratch his head and lie his head down against the sofa's arm rest. He just really hoped that this was a good idea, and hoped that nothing would go wrong that night. 

•••••

 _Knock knock!_ went the door. Yosuke hurriedly ran over to it to open the door for his guest. 

"Katsuragi!" Yosuke exclaimed as he opened the door for him. 

"Hey, Yosuke," Katsuragi greeted with a smile. "I hope I wasn't too late."

"Nope, you're right on time! Lunch just arrived, so you've got yourself some perfect timing. We can talk over food," Yosuke beamed. "Now don't just stand there, come in!"

"Right. Thanks, and sorry for bothering you," The other man replied as he walked in. Katsuragi had short black hair, with bangs that just fall above his eyes. He wore a suit since he had just come back from his short investigation. "Thanks again for having me."

"It's fine, man! I'm glad you came," Yosuke replied. "I haven't seen you in a long time."

"One week is not a long time, idiot," he remarked. 

"It is to me, jerk." The brunette responded, putting his arms around Katsuragi's neck from behind. "Now tell me all about what you found while we eat! I'm starving!"

The two walked over to Yosuke's dining room, where a box of pizza had been placed. The smaller of the two continued to cling onto Katsuragi until they eventually had to sit down. 

"So, I found ourselves another witness," Katsuragi said as he grabbed a slice of the pizza. "Some guy named Mizuyama. I have a feeling he's hiding something, so I promised to meet with him again for further questioning."

"Really? What'd you find out?" Asked Yosuke. 

"He told me he saw the culprit escaping through the window to the backyard, but the only window broken in the scene was a window that led to the side of the house when I checked."

"Pfft, this Mizuyama sure can lie."

"Tell me about it," Katsuragi added. "I wrote a report on my findings. Once you talk to Takamoto, maybe my report will make a bit more sense."

"Yeah yeah, I'll get to that," replied Yosuke as he took a bite of his pizza. "So, is that it?"

"Pretty much. I don't think there's much to tell you that's not in my report."

"Then I look forward to reading it," responded Yosuke with a smile. 

Katsuragi loosened the tie around his collar and let out a tired sigh. "Man, I'm beat from all that walking around," he complained. Katsuragi had been busy that whole week due to finding as much information as he could to help Yosuke out. The amount of information he could find could only be compiled in a small number of pages, which disappointed him. Although, since he was on a break, he took this time to relax as much as he could before going back to the field. "So, how's it going?"

"It's been going... Okay," replied Yosuke. "I'm pretty sure I already told you in that text I sent you couple days ago."

"Yeah, I remember reading it," Katsuragi said as he gave the other a worried look. "How are you holding up?"

Yosuke gave Katsuragi a wry smile, bringing his legs up to the chair to hold them close to his chest. "I'm fine, I guess," he replied. "Well... More like I hope."

"Is that why you sounded like you'd have been crying over the phone earlier?"

"Wow, crap, so you could tell?" Yosuke said letting out a small chuckle. "Man, aren't I lame?"

Katsuragi got up and took a chair to sit beside the other. He put an arm around the brunette, rubbing the other's upper arm in a comforting manner. "Don't say that," he said. "You shouldn't be putting yourself down like that, Yosuke."

"Yeah, but..." The brunette muttered as he rested his head against Katsuragi's shoulder. "I sound like a freaking school girl!"

"This is a totally normal reaction to being rejected, so you're not the only one who feels like this," Katsuragi smiled. "I remember when I found out the person I liked was in love with someone else. I was bummed out for days, but I was able to bring myself back up eventually."

"Woah, you got your heart broken before? I never thought that you were the type."

"Yeah, but it's only human," replied Katsuragi as he rested his head against Yosuke's. "It's not like I've never fallen in love before."

Yosuke felt himself blush a little towards Katsuragi's gesture. It wasn't like they haven't done so before, but Yosuke always thought any normal bros like they were wouldn't be doing some of the things they did. "S-So, why don't you tell me about it?" Yosuke requested nervously. "I want to hear all about your failure in love."

Katsuragi chuckled at the remark. He raised his head up so that he may look at Yosuke in the face. "I'll tell you all about it... Only if you win the trial."

"Wow, you don't have to be such a jerk about it," Yosuke scoffed as he moved away from Katsuragi. The other man laughed at Yosuke and proceeded to ruffle the brunette's hair. 

"I'll tell you for sure," said Katsuragi with a smile. "Just... Not now."

"You promise?" Yosuke said as he raised his pinky towards the other. 

"...Promise." Katsuragi responded as he let his own pinky wind itself around Yosuke's. 

Shortly after, the two had talked about other things such as the case, and the how the two had been the past week. After all that, Katsuragi eventually left, promising to Yosuke that they'd both do their best for the upcoming trial. 

Yosuke was then left all alone in his home, with his half eaten box of pizza and the folder in which Katsuragi had put his report in. With that, Yosuke waits for Souji to come with his girlfriend; their time of meeting again after that night drawing close.


	4. Still Aching, Still Aching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yosuke's going out to dinner with Souji and Souji's girlfriend. Yosuke doesn't know how to act…

_Knock! Knock!_

"Waah, he's here!" Yosuke panicked. Souji had just arrived to Yosuke's apartment and was knocking on his door to pick him up for dinner. 

The brunette had been trying to get ready as fast as he could, since the man had just recently woken up from a nap in which he had lost track of time. He had been playing around with his tie for the past couple of minutes, messing up every five seconds due to being in such a rush. 

_Knock! Knock!_

"Gaah, coming!" Yosuke gave up and answered the door, opening it only to turn away and bring himself to the bathroom mirror. "Sorry about this, Souji!" Yosuke called out from the bathroom. "I sorta lost track of time and, well, as you can see..."

"It's fine," replied Souji as he let himself into the apartment. "You, uh... Need any help?" Souji looked at Yosuke through the mirror's reflection, quite amused with watching the other man battle his way through the piece of cloth. 

"That'd be great," Yosuke answered, "if you don't mind, that is." He dropped his hands from the tie and turned over to his best friend. Not only was his tie a mess, but the suit he wore was too. It was crooked, and it looked as if Yosuke threw on the outfit in seconds without caring what he looked like. 

Souji chuckled at the other man and took Yosuke's problem within his own hands. "It'd be my pleasure," Souji responded as he began to fix up Yosuke's tie with a smile. "Knowing you, tying up one of these babies wouldn't even be a problem... You a little nervous?" He asked as he tightened the piece of cloth in place. 

Yosuke blushed a little. Souji had gotten it right; Yosuke was a bit nervous meeting the other man's girlfriend for the first time. It wasn't as if he didn't want to meet her, it was more about realizing the fact that he'd be meeting the person he loved had fallen in love with. Should he treat her like a friend? A stranger? A rival? It was questions like that that caused Yosuke's head to spin, confused as to how to make his first impression. He answered the other man's remark with a slight nod, looking down to Souji's slender fingers. 

The other man had began fixing Yosuke's suit's collar which slightly bent upwards and asymmetrical from the the other side. "It'll be fine," Souji reassured. "She's a very nice girl, and I'm sure you'd like her. I have a feeling you two'd get along just fine."

"You think so?" Yosuke replied. 

"I know so." Souji patted the other's chest, indicating that his work had finished. 

"Thanks," Yosuke smiled, "you're always there when I need you in times like these."

"Anytime," Souji replied. "Now, let's get going. Yuuko's downstairs in the car. We wouldn't want to keep a lady waiting."

"Right," Yosuke muttered. "We should hurry then."

•••••

The two entered the car, Souji sitting himself down on the driver's seat while Yosuke sat in the back. Yuuko, who had been sitting in the passenger seat, looked back at Yosuke with a smile across her face. _She looks promising,_ Yosuke thought as he returned the smile with one of his own. 

"Hello!" The woman greeted with a slight bow with her head. "I'm Yuuko Tachibana. As you probably already know, I'm your best friend's lover."

Yosuke responded with a bow of his head. "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Tachibana," he replied. "I'm Yosuke Hanamura; a good friend of Souji's."

"I would know," Yuuko chuckled, "he never stops talking about you." She took her hand out for Yosuke to shake, her arm in an awkward position for a hand shake. "It's finally nice meeting the infamous Mr. Hanamura."

Yosuke reached out and shook the woman's hand. "P-Please, you're flattering me!" Yosuke replied with a small tremble within his voice. "I'm not all that great."

"Yes, you are!" Yuuko remarked as she pulled her hand away. "Souji told me everything about you back when the both of you were in high school."

Yosuke jumped a little. Did Souji really tell Yuuko about their excursions within the TV world? He gave Souji a worried look, hoping he'd notice, but the other man looked too busy starting up the car. "D-Did he now?" Yosuke shook, tensing up a little. 

"Of course!" She replied. "He told me about how you were always there whenever he was in trouble, especially when some people wanted to pick a fight with him. He also told me how you helped him catch a murderer through a series of news casts that all had been weirdly similar to each other."

 _Phew,_ Yosuke thought, _she doesn't know._ He let out a sigh of relief, feeling a lot more relaxed. The woman looked at him, tilting her head to the side. 

"You okay?" She asked. "You look a bit tense."

"I-It's nothing!" He replied. "J-Just a little cold, is all!"

"Well, it is the Winter time... You should've bundled up a bit more then."

Yosuke shook his head and and waves his hand at her to gesture that he was fine. The woman shrugged and went back to face the front. Yosuke, quietly, sighed out with relief once more as he sank into the leather seats. The young man decided to go over his game plan for that night. Things such as how he was going to act, how he was going to respond, and even certain subjects that could bring up good conversation that wouldn't bring up questions of suspicion. He didn't want Yuuko to see Souji's best friends with a freak, even though he's probably already messed up pretty big with his first impression with the woman. If there was a reputation Yosuke wanted to uphold, it would have to be Souji's; Yosuke could care less about what others saw him as, not even the person who has the potential of spending their entire life with the one Yosuke cared for the most. 

Shortly afterward, the engine roared showing that the car was ready to go. Souji smiled at the two, somehow satisfied with how the two's conversation went. 

"I'm sure you guys have acquainted yourselves with each other already," said Souji. "Well, whenever you guys are ready, let's get going."

Yosuke and Yuuko returned to Souji with a nod. The silver haired man nodded back to confirm that he understood. He released the car's hand break, set the gear onto 'Drive," and drove off to their destination. 

~*****~

Katsuragi sat on a chair by his dining table within his apartment, staring at the screen of his cellphone that had the time "7:04 pm" brightly shining on it. 

_He's probably with Souji right now,_ he thought. He switched his phone off and buried his face into his arms that had rested on the table. His friend, probably the only one he actually respected, had gone out for dinner with his friend and his friend's girlfriend. If that hadn't been the case, Katsuragi would have spent the night with him in a heartbeat. It sure beat lounging around in his apartment alone when he could be snuggling up next to his best friend for warmth than by himself in the comforts of his blanket. 

Although, Katsuragi had a job to do. Before Katsuragi left the Hanamura residence, Yosuke had requested that he confide in him for advice when he needed it during the evening. Of course, Katsuragi couldn't say no, so he happily agreed to assist his friend in his time of need. 

Right now, the black haired boy was just waiting ever so patiently in front of his cellphone for a message from Yosuke— a cry for help. 

•••••

"So, what would you be having tonight?" Said the waiter to Yosuke. 

Yosuke looked at the menu with nervous eyes, eyeing the dishes' pictures and descriptions. He'd never have been in a fancy restaurant like this before. To add on to how little information he knew about said restaurant, he didn't even know half of what the dishes were supposed to be. From behind the shield of his menu, he snuck a peek at Yuuko and Souji's expressions to how they acted towards the atmosphere. The two had worn calm, and collected smiles as if the two had come to the restaurant many times before. Seeing the two smile like that made Yosuke even more uncomfortable than how he was earlier. He gripped tightly on the edges of the menu as Souji, Yuuko and, now, the waited stared at him with curious eyes. If given the chance, Yosuke would've just walked out of the restaurant and have bought a cheeseburger at a local fast food restaurant; although, unfortunately, Yosuke did not have that luxury. 

"Sir?" The waiter spoke trying to get Yosuke's attention. "Have you decided?" He caught Yosuke's attention, all right. Even made him jump too. 

"I, uh, um..." Stuttered the brunette. "I-I'll have the, um..." The boy actually hadn't decided, of course. He was way too nervous to even think straight. He looked up from his menu and shot Souji a nervous look, hoping that the silver haired man would notice and offer him some help. Luckily for Yosuke, Souji _did_ notice and returned his glance with a reassuring nod. 

"He'll have what I'll be having," Souji answered with much calmness in his voice. Souji shot Yosuke a quick wink before turning to the waiter with a smile. The waiter glanced over to the still nervous Yosuke then over to Souji, whose smile gave off the feeling that the waiter was no longer needed. 

"As you wish," said the waiter taking note of their order on his little notepad. "Two rigatoni alla bolognese, and one risotto di aragosta." The man took the menus away from the three and left them to themselves. 

Yosuke looked at the waiter with an expression of disbelief as the man walked away. What the hell did he just say? Was that even a language? Better yet, how much will that cost? He turned over to Souji, his jaw still dropped. The man and his lover laughed at Yosuke's dumbfounded look, amused to see his reaction.

"I take it you don't do this often?" Remarked Yuuko in between chuckles. Yosuke replied to her with a shake of his head. 

"No, ma'am," Yosuke responded. "Never knew such words even existed."

"It's just pasta," explained Souji. "They just wanted to make it sound, you know... Authentic."

"You don't say?" Yosuke chuckled, bringing Souji to laugh with him. Yuuko looked at the two with a soft expression, somewhat happy seeing the two the way they are. 

"You two seem real close," said Yuuko as the two laughed together. "I feel as if Yosuke's gonna steal Souji away from me."

With that, Souji and Yosuke's laughter ceased. The two men stared at Yuuko with their expressions frozen into the smile they had earlier as they laughed. They didn't know if she was serious or not, but it had brought the two's minds back to the night they went out drinking. Souji and Yosuke felt the atmosphere grow heavy in between them, but Yuuko didn't seem to notice. 

The woman laughed it off and waved her hand at the two. "I'm joking!" She said. "Of course Yosuke won't steal Souji away from me. I won't give the love of my life up that easily."

"R-Right," Yosuke muttered. "L-Like that's gonna happen." The brunette laughed, shaking off the tension in the atmosphere that had been there earlier. Although, inside, Yosuke knew what she said had been true. Yosuke really had wanted to steal Souji away from the woman, but he knew that she wouldn't go down without a fight. He also saw how much the woman loved Souji too, so Yosuke would feel horrible if he broke someone's heart for his own selfish reasons. He loved the man, he really did, but Yosuke had his morals and hurting someone due to him being selfish went against what he believed in. Yosuke's laughter died down to nervous chuckles, his head lowering to look at the piece of cloth laid over his lap. 

Souji looked at Yosuke, watching the expression in the man's eyes drop. His expression softened, but a hint of worry for the man lingered within Souji. He took his cellphone out of his pocket and began to text Yosuke as quick as he could so that Yuuko wouldn't notice. As soon as Souji pressed send, he noticed Yosuke jump and fumble his around at his pockets for his own cellphone. It was cute, he had to admit, watching Yosuke breaking away from his dazed state like that. The brunette opened cellphone and read the message Souji had sent him. 

_From: Souji Seta  
XX / XX / 20XX_

_Meet me in the men's washroom. We need to talk._

Yosuke read said message then shot a look at Souji. The other had his eyes turned away from Yosuke, but when his eyes moved slowly to look at the brunette, Yosuke knew that he was serious. Souji probably didn't want Yuuko to notice that the two had messaged each other without her knowing. Yosuke nodded to him and pulled out the most believable smile he could muster. 

"I, uh, have to use the washroom," said Yosuke breaking the silence. "I'm, uh... Not feeling well." Yosuke could hear Souji slap his palm against his forehead. Guess he had done it a bit earlier than what Souji wanted. He didn't want to look at him, since he didn't want to see Souji's reaction to how stupid Yosuke was. 

"Here, I'll bring you there," Souji responded. "Is that alright with you, Yuuko?"

"Oh, it's fine," the woman answered. "I'll be okay here. Please, take your time." She gave the two a somewhat mischievous smile. 

Souji had grabbed onto Yosuke's wrist, and practically dragged the other man all the way to their destination. Once they reached the room, Souji closed the door behind him as quickly as he could. Luckily, the two were alone, so speaking out loudly wouldn't be much of a problem. 

"So, what'd you want to talk to me about?" Yosuke brought up, cutting to the chase, as he leaned himself against the sink's counter. 

"You're still bummed out from that night, aren't you?" Souji responded, also wasting no time to get straight to the subject at hand. "I know you are, so don't even try lying your way out of this." This made Yosuke laugh a little. 

"Then what's the point of asking for an answer you already knew?" 

"Yosuke, I..." Souji looked down to his feet. "It's just that I don't feel as if things have really been settled between us."

"So, what do you want me to do? Just act as if that night never happened?"

Souji looked up, his brow furrowed. "No! I mean... Kind of, but--!" Yosuke cut him off. 

"What? Are you ashamed that another _man_ has feelings for you, and you think that might interfere with your relationship with Yuuko?"

"No! Nothing like that! I just want things to be normal between us, is all... I want things to be back to how they used to be."

Yosuke scoffed as he crossed his arms. He really didn't want to be having this sort of argument with Souji at that moment, and in a restaurant's washroom of all places? Yosuke had rather they continue this somewhere else. "Look, can we talk about this another time in a more appropriate place? I don't think here is the best--!" It was Souji that cut him off this time. 

Souji slammed his hand against the counter next to Yosuke's hip, causing Yosuke to stop mid sentence. Souji had started to lean over Yosuke, their faces just inches away from each other. "Now is as good a time as any."

Yosuke felt his face grow hot, and his heart beat faster. He just wanted to so badly run away and hide his face from the world, but, unfortunately, Souji had locked him into his position, giving the taller man a great view of Yosuke's already blushing face. Yosuke's mouth gaped open, clearly at a loss of words. What did Souji want him to do? Pull out his magic wand and magically forget that night ever happened? "S-So what?" Yosuke stuttered. "W-What do you want me to do?"

Souji leaned his face in closer, so close that the tips of their noses had started to touch. "I want you to kiss me," Souji whispered. "Think of it as a kiss farewell to the you that loved me. Maybe it'll help you forget."

Boom. Yosuke felt like his heart was going to fly out of his chest. Kiss Souji? Was he fucking stupid? He couldn't do it! Especially in a place such as this. If someone were to walk in on them at that moment, who knows what would happen. If someone were to walk on them right now, before Yosuke even kisses him, it would just be so awkward that Yosuke wouldn't know how to deal. Although, even if they weren't in that washroom, maybe even a place more private, Yosuke probably won't even muster up the courage to be able to do it. Just having the thought that he'd be kissing a taken man in mind causes him to be a little iffy on his decision. "You want me... To kiss you?"

"If you won't, then I will," said Souji as he leaned in for the kill, but, before he could, Yosuke placed his hand over Souji's mouth before their lips actually made contact. 

"No, wait!" He exclaimed. "I-I'll do it! Just... Not out here..." Yosuke looked down, hand still over Souji's mouth. Yosuke then gestured with a nod of his head to one of the stalls, hoping that Souji would get the message. "I'd... Rather no one sees just in case someone walks in."

Souji followed to where Yosuke was gesturing to then looked back to his blushing face. Souji let out a sigh and retracted himself away from the other man. "Let's just make this quick."

"You and me both." Yosuke replied looking away from the other man. 

Souji grabbed Yosuke by the hand and pulled him into the stall with him, locking the door behind Yosuke. He leaned over the smaller man again, similar to the position they were in earlier. The silence between the two had grown heavy as they stared at each other with nervous eyes. As the two leaned in closer to each other, Souji could swear he he could hear the fast, heavy beating of Yosuke's heart... Though, that could have been his own. Yosuke wasn't the only one nervous about this. Souji slightly let his mouth open, just as Yosuke did as they leaned closer and closer into each other.

Closing his eyes, Yosuke put his arms around Souji's neck and pulled his face close enough that their lips had just grazed each other's. 

"I...I can't do this, man," whispered Yosuke, pulling away ever so slightly. "This is NOT going to help me forget anything. This'll just make things worse…"

Souji leaned in to let his forehead touch Yosuke's. "Please," he replied in a quiet voice. "At least give it a try."

Yosuke pursed his lips. He knew, for a fact, that he wasn't going to forget something over a little kiss. Anyone would know that, then why would Souji bother? Use it as an excuse to kiss another man? It's not as if Yosuke didn't mind, it's just the reasoning behind all this confused him. "Bastard," he finally responded. "If something goes wrong because of this, we're putting the blame on you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." 

With that, Souji pressed his lips against Yosuke's. It had rough, yet gentle feel to how it was, but Souji kept it as soft, and enjoyable, for the both of them. He tried his best to stay calm, but his nervous impulses made it hard to control how much energy he had put in to the kiss. Yosuke let out a low moan, clearly already enjoying himself, and slightly opened his mouth in hopes that Souji got the idea. This wasn't Yosuke's first time in a kiss like this, but he couldn't find a way to satisfy what he wanted without embarrassing himself in front of his best friend. Souji got the message, all right, but being the little jerk he was, he decided to play around with Yosuke before fully devouring him. He would lick the other's lips whenever Yosuke slightly parted away from him to tease him a little, make Yosuke think he's getting what he wants. Of course, Yosuke caught on and decided to bite softly at Souji's lower lip, gesturing to him that he should stop being an ass and get serious. Souji understood with a smile, letting his tongue slither into the other's mouth when Yosuke had retracted from his bite. This caught Yosuke a little off guard and let out a quiet moan of surprise. Souji let their tongues dance with each other, their kiss getting more passionate as milliseconds pass. As the two stood in their position, with Yosuke gripping hard at Souji's hair, and with Souji pulling Yosuke closer by the waist, the two heard someone entering the room. The two men immediately stopped and pulled away from each other as fast as they could, hoping that neither of them made that much noise. 

After what seemed like an eternity, the man finally left, making both Souji and Yosuke sigh out in relief. The two spared no time getting out of the stall to lean against the sink counters, taking in as much as they could from what they just did. It wasn't as if they haven't kissed each other before, but kissing _like that_ was a completely new experience for both of them. An awkward silence decided to creep itself into the washroom, its silence drowning the two of them. 

"Souji," Yosuke called out to break the silence. "You, uh... Still with me?"

"Y-Yeah," Souji replied. "Yeah, I'm here. Just a little... Shaken up?"

"Well, it was pretty intense."

"'Yeah... Though, I guess I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"What?!" Yosuke blushed. "I-I didn't enjoy anything!"

Souji let out a laugh. "Your cute moans said otherwise."

Yosuke just wanted to die. He remembered making sounds like that when the two were kissing. Making moans of pleasure and hunger like that brought Yosuke to cover his red face from Souji. He never liked sounding like that, even when he was alone. It showed a sort of weaker side of Yosuke's that he, himself, didn't even like. "Waah, sh-shut up!"

"Sure... We should go before Yuuko gets suspicious."

"Crap, that's right!" Yosuke exclaimed with a smack to his forehead. "I'll be right behind ya!"

Souji gave him a smile and reached for the door. "Oh, that's right," Souji remembered. "Just in case you don't like the food here, you want to head over to the bar and get some actual food? We're only here because Yuuko seriously wanted to take you here for dinner... Maybe to impress you or something, but, in my opinion, the food's not all that great."

"God, I'd love that!" Yosuke responded with much joy. "All this gourmet-fancy-crap is creeping me out."

"You and me both." Souji chuckled. 

Yosuke gave the other man a warm smile, his eyes slightly narrowed into a soft expression. "Thanks, partner." 

_Partner,_ Souji thought, _it still feels nice hearing it from him._ Souji opened the door for Yosuke and followed his friend out. "Anytime," he replied. 

Once the two had arrived to their table, Yuuko threw them awkward questions and scenarios about what took them so long. Souji and Yosuke decided to laugh her statements off, trying not to look so suspicious. Throughout dinner, the three of them spoke for what seemed like hours about the past, and other generic conversational subjects. Souji and Yosuke would shoot each other a glance here and there, as if sending each other quiet messages on how they felt about their banter. The two would laugh together at times without Yuuko knowing why. It felt refreshing, the way they laughed. It felt as if they were transported back to the old days, back when they were just free high schoolers that found joy in everything they did. Being like this felt nice for both Souji and Yosuke; it was like that everything that could have happened that may have caused a crack in their relationship had disappeared and they were nothing else but just best friends. 

_So why did things have to turn out like this?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4th chapter! Wow, I'm actually really glad a whole bunch of you are still reading this, and it gives me the motivation to keep writing. Also, I tend to write this at the dead of night, so if I make any mistakes I apologize again! 
> 
> The menu items I used are actual dishes at a local fancy restaurant. I couldn't think of a name, so I kinda used their menu for help… I'm not good with fancy gourmet. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please continue reading! Things will get intense next chapter, so please stay tuned! (I also gotta change the rating for it later… Expect something sexy?)
> 
> Edit: I changed the chapter title… I feel as if the previous chapter title would be more fitting in the next.


	5. Oh Baby, I Need Your Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yosuke heads to the bar with Souji to clear things up a bit.

"Sheesh, thank god that's over!" Yosuke said as he leaned back against his chair. After Souji had dropped Yuuko off at their condo, the two boys are now currently hanging out at the bar they were at a couple of days ago. The two had unconsciously claimed it as their new hang out spot, just like how it was in the Junes food court… Minus the rest of the gang, of course. 

"It wasn't so bad," replied Souji as he played around with his tray of fries. "I'm sure both you and Yuuko enjoyed yourselves. Of course, you in more ways than one." Souji smirked. 

Yosuke became flustered and threw the small fry he was going to eat at his friend out of instinct. "Shut up!" He yelled as he smacked Souji's arm in addition. "You're the one who asked for it. I just complied!" He curled back against his seat with his arms crossed, slightly pouting at the other man. 

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry." Souji apologized with his hands in front of him in surrender. "I'll admit, I also enjoyed our time there together. It was probably the most fun I've had in a long time." He took a fry and playfully nibbled onto it, his gaze never leaving Yosuke's. "If you don't mind, I'll be more than glad if we can do that again. Of course, somewhere cheaper and if it's just the two of us." Souji threw Yosuke a wink once finishing his remark. 

This threw Yosuke off guard. Was Souji just teasing him or was he actually full out hitting on him? The brunette didn't know, causing him to freeze up with his blushing face for a while. "Y-You're serious?" 

"Totally," Souji responded. "Although, if you had something dirty in mind, I take it back."

"No, no, no! N-Nothing dirty at all!" Yosuke stuttered. "I was just, uh, making sure you weren't playing me, you know?" 

"Why would I ask you to do dirty things with me?" Stated Souji in an obvious expression. "I'd be cheating on Yuuko."

"Well," Yosuke began, "that time in the bathroom earlier…"

"Didn't count because I was trying to help you get over me." Souji said as he finished Yosuke's sentence. The two boys then shared a laugh together. 

Through their laughter, Yosuke looked at Souji's smiling face. A certain face he fell in love with all those years ago. The way the man smiled seemed to make all of Yosuke's worries go away; it somehow always reminded him that there was someone out in the world that truly acknowledged him as their equal. That day on the riverbed where the two proceeded to beat each other up was a moment Yosuke would never forget: it was the time where it had become official that the two had formed a friendship that nothing in existence could break. But, as the way things are standing now, Yosuke had become doubtful, thinking that if their friendship really will last as long as he hoped it would. With Yuuko in Souji's life now, Yosuke began thinking that maybe he'll slowly be forgotten by his best friend. He became worried, and his face unconsciously formed itself into a frown amidst their laughter. 

"Y-Yosuke?" Souji said as his laughter died down into small giggles. "What's wrong?"

Yosuke finally noticed what he was doing and immediately put up a smile. "N-Nothing!" Stuttered Yosuke. "Nothing's wrong, what are you talking about?"

"You looked glum all of a sudden, that's what I'm talking about." Souji replied. "Now tell me why did you look so out of it just now?"

Yosuke's made a soft, relaxed expression. "It's nothing, really," he said. "Just... I just had some things on my mind, is all."

Souji leaned back to his chair with his arms cross and his mouth twisting into a confused frown. "You mind telling me about it?"

Yosuke replied with a calm shake of his head. "Actually, I do," he responded. "Is that okay?" Souji looked at him with a smile, which somewhat baffled Yosuke in return. Surely, he thought, that Souji would have been curious about what was on his mind. He guessed that maybe Souji was the type of person to respect people's privacy; this brought Yosuke to smile at himself on the inside, probably not wanting Souji to see him look like an idiot. 

"Of course," Souji said. "If that's the case, I'm not going to pry. If you don't want to tell me, then that's your choice; we'll just have to talk about something else." Souji smiled at Yosuke, bringing his friend to become flustered. 

"Thanks," said Yosuke as he looked down to his lap with a quiet voice. 

"I'm just doing what I think is right." Souji replied, still smiling. 

A silence befell the two as they sat across each other with their trays of unfinished food. The music's bass was blaring in the background as the two sat in a deafening silence. Yosuke was still looking down to his lap, raising his head from time to time to see if Souji was looking at him. If he caught the other man's gaze, Yosuke would immediately look back down to make it look as if he was never looking in the first place. He could feel Souji's gaze pierce through him like needles, becoming quite weary of the the atmosphere as seconds go by. 

"Hey," Yosuke began with a shaky voice. "I just, um, Souji, I…"

"What is it?" He replied, somewhat glad the silence between them has somewhat dissipated. He looked at Yosuke whose arms were moving as if he was fidgeting with a part of his clothing. 

"I'm not going to forget, you know," answered Yosuke as quiet as he could so that only Souji could hear. "My feelings for you that is… I'm not going to get rid of them over some kiss."

Souji looked at him with a small smile of defeat. He hoped the kiss would work somehow, but the small doubts within him found itself to prevail. "I know," Souji replied. "I didn't think you'd get over me that easily."

"Yeah," chuckled Yosuke. "I'm sorry?"

"There's no need to apologize for falling in love with your best friend." Souji said with a smile which was followed by a hearty laugh. "Besides, it doesn't bother me as much as it used to, so all is well."

"W-Wait, it was bothering you?"

"Kinda, but that's just water under the bridge. You honestly don't have to worry about it."

Yosuke hid his face with his palms to conceal his shame. He made his friend feel uncomfortable at a certain point in time. It bothered Yosuke, and he couldn't get over the fact that Souji actually felt awkward around Yosuke after the confession. "Waaah!" Yosuke stammered from behind his hands. "Good god, that must've been extremely weird!"

"No no!" Souji replied trying to calm Yosuke down. "It wasn't weird at all! I was just confused on how I should react. My emotions were a mess, and I just..." Souji was at a loss of words. He didn't know how to complete his statement without making things harder for the both of them. Instead, he decided to close the topic as subtle as he could. "It's really nothing you should be worrying about, okay?."

Yosuke slowly retracted away from his palms. "R-Really?"

"Yes, really." Souji reached for Yosuke's hands and moved them away from his face, Souji's expression softening to that of a warm smile. "Now would you calm down? I wouldn't want to cause a scene."

"R-Right," Yosuke replied. "My bad."

"That's fine, so long as you calm down."

The two shared a nervous laugh with each other before finishing up with their food so they could head home.

•••••

The ride back to Yosuke's house had been an awkward one due to the lack of conversation. When he finally made his way out of Souji's car, thanking him for the night in the process, he felt a wave of relief wash over him as he made his way up to the entrance of the building. Before Yosuke could make much progress into getting the entrance door to open, Souji called out to him through the open passenger window. Yosuke turned around to look at him, stopping in his tracks in the process. 

"Call me sometime, alright?" Souji yelled out from inside the vehicle, looking at Yosuke in the eye. "We can hang out again another time if you want. We still have ten years worth of catching up to do."

Yosuke held onto Souji's gaze at him for a few seconds far too long before breaking it with a smile and a nod. "I will," he replied. "I'll see ya around, partner." With that, Yosuke darted for the entrance door, trying to get away from Souji's line of sight as quickly as he can as to prevent him from being watched. He knew Souji, and Souji was the type of guy to watch over someone until he knew they were safe or were in the clear. Once Yosuke got the door open, he gave Souji a quick wave 'goodbye' before running towards the elevator. 

He let his back fall against the wall of the compartment, breathing heavily as if his crush just asked him out on another date. Well, technically, but Yosuke didn't exactly consider it as a measly high school crush anymore. He let himself out once the elevator halted to a stop at his floor, and made his way inside his apartment. 

When he opened the door, he let out a yelp, surprised about who he found inside waiting for him on his couch. 

"Hey," Katsuragi said." I've been waiting for you."

"Yeah, like I didn't get the message already?" Yosuke let out a sigh, kicking his shoes off the entrance before making his way towards Katsuragi. He threw himself on the couch next to his friend, letting out another sigh and loosening the the tie around his neck as if to signal he was tired and wanted Katsuragi to just leave. If that had been the case though, Katsuragi didn't catch it. "Never thought you'd show up seeing that I didn't exactly need your help throughout that 'date'."

"Yeah, well, I was worried," Katsuragi confessed. "So, did you enjoy yourself?"

"Boy, did I," Yosuke replied in a sarcastic tone, letting out another sigh. "In all honesty, the whole thing went exactly the opposite of how I thought it would be."

"Care to share?"

Yosuke began explaining to Katsuragi what happened when he went out with Souji and his girlfriend. How Souji came by to help him with his tie, how nervous Yosuke was just trying order food at the restaurant, how Yuuko wasn't that bad of a person... Even the time when the two snuck into the men's washroom to make out in one of the stalls. Yosuke, as excited as he was, began explaining to Katsragi in detail about how he kiss went, how Souji's mouth moved, how Yosuke felt inside--

"Okay, I get it!" Katsuragi interrupted. "You really enjoyed kissing him like that, yeesh. You don't have to tell me the details."

"S-Sorry," Yosuke let out with a nervous tone. "Guess I got carried away."

"So, anything else I need to know?"

"Well, after dinner, Souji and I headed to a bar. We talked a bit there, and kinda cleared up some stuff between us concerning, my uh... Me being in love with him, and crap."

"So?" Katsuragi threw him a smirk. 

"Things are just better between us now, okay?" Yosuke rested his against Katsuragi's lap and used it as a pillow as if he had done it a billion times before. "Let's just leave it at that. I'm freaking tired, and I wish you could just stop asking questions for now."

Katsuragi played with the other's hair a little, moving some of it away from Yosuke's face. He smiled at him and nodded, continuing to stroke Yosuke's hair in a gentle manner. "Sure," he replied in a warm tone. "I'll shut up for now."

Yosuke found himself enjoying Katsuragi's gesture of stroking his hair like that. He looked up at him and smiled as if to say 'thank you', and slowly fluttered his eyes to a close. Yosuke found himself growing sleepy and gave up to the urges of pulling away from reality and into the world of slumber. Before he fully succumbed to sleep though, he remembered that Mr. Takamoto head available for further questioning and was supposed to tell Katsuragi about it. Although, Yosuke decided to blow it off and tell him when he woke up. With that, Yosuke found himself sound asleep in the comforts of his friend's lap. 

"Yosuke?" Katsuragi called out, checking if he was still awake or not. He looked at him, his small chest moving up and down with slow, easy breaths. Katsuragi had guessed that Yosuke fell asleep and decided to stay in their position for a little bit longer. Katsuragi would later ask Yosuke to get up off if his lap and tell him to move over to his bed to prevent catching a cold. But, for now, Katsuragi let himself bask in the moment of having his friend lay asleep on his lap, quite happy with himself that he could be of some service to Yosuke. 

Yosuke began muttering in his sleep, letting out quiet moans and grumbles as he turned his around Katsuragi's lap. "Sou... ji..." Yosuke muttered sleepily as he dreamt. 

Katsuragi made a face. Not a face of disappointment, but he held an expression that said _so you love him that much, huh?_ He stroked Yosuke's hair away from his face again to get a good look at how peaceful Yosuke looked. Katsuragi felt his face grow hot, his heartbeat growing a little faster than usual.

Obviously by now, Katsuragi was clearly in love with Yosuke. Luckily for him, Yosuke wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the shed, so Yosuke is completely oblivious to Katsuragi's feelings toward him. His feelings for him had begun to bloom shortly after the two started working together. Being with someone and having them rely on you like this was what Katsuragi enjoyed the most with Yosuke; he felt as if he could protect him from anything. Although, with things going on as they are, with Yosuke hanging out with Souji now, Katsuragi began to feel somewhat discarded and useless around Yosuke lately; as if he wasn't needed anymore. He wanted to preserve the relationship they had, and if going through obstacles like Souji had to be overcome, then so be it. He wasn't gonna make a little crush ruin what Katsuragi and Yosuke had. Maybe, he thought, it could become something more if Souji was out if the picture. Although, Katsuragi wasn't the type of guy to ruin someone's life like that, no. If this is what Yosuke wanted, to run towards a love that may never be, then Katsuragi just had to go along with it and help him out as much as he could. Being of use to Yosuke was more than anything he could ask for. 

Katsuragi continued looking at Yosuke's sleeping face, Yosuke's eyes calmly closed and mouth slightly parted. Katsuragi saw this as a chance to make a move, but nothing too drastic as to wake his sleeping friend. Katsuragi lowered his head and pressed his lips gently over Yosuke's into a light kiss, pulling away as quickly as he could as to not wake him. This caused Yosuke to stir a little, making Katsuragi say a little prayer to himself to wish that Yosuke wouldn't wake up to something so awkward. Luckily, Yosuke quickly went back to his peaceful state and smiled a little, as if the kiss somehow interfered with his dreams in a way that he liked. Katsuragi let out a sigh of relief and sunk his back against the cushions. 

He decided not to move Yosuke after all. The two of them seemed to like their position now, and moving Yosuke now would be a hassle. Instead, Katsuragi laid his head back against the sofa and slowly drifted himself into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied. Nothing sexy this chapter. Next chapter, maybe? I wanted to get this baby out as soon as I could since I haven't updated in a while. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this update, and I hope you look forward to the next!


End file.
